Elmore's Corner...Round Eleven.

Beth glanced at the newest entries coming in through the front door. She spoke under her breath.

Beth:  Uh-oh.  Bring out your dead!

Deb:  What?

Eddie bustled Angelo in none too gently.

Eddie:  Gotta prowler.

Eddie shoved Angelo toward the group clustered around the bar.  Seeing
who Beth was staring at, I understood.

Deb:  Duck, even?

Sam:  What the hell he's doin' here I don't know.  Bring him on back,
Eddie.

Eddie grabbed hold of Perino with a beefy hand and propelled him toward 
the office.  I stared at Eddie, transfixed.  The cheap suit did nothing to
hide the spectacular frame lurking beneath it, but I was watching his hands.
Though Eddie was doing a great job flinging Angelo from pillar to post, I
found his hands...reassuring.  Hands had been preoccupying me a great deal
lately, and Eddie's were fascinating.

Beth:  I'll go get Bill.

Beth headed into the back room.  Everyone else gravitated to the office.
I doubted I would be needed but I was going to stay near Eddie.  Billy came
out of the back room and impaled Angelo with a look.

Billy:  Tell me you're makin' the first smart move of your life, boy.

Angelo:  I want...I need...which one of you is the deputy?

A forest of fingers pointed Sam out and Eddie gave Angelo another shove,
into the office.  Eddie took up a post outside the door, only inches from 
me, in case Angelo took it into his head to make a break for it.

Angelo:  I'd like to tell you what I know...in exchange for protection and
immunity, of course.

Sam:  Oh, of course.  We'll need to touch base with Foltrigg with regards 
to the immunity...have a seat.  Strannix, get in here.  Beth, you know
any shorthand?

Beth:  No, but I can write fast enough.

Billy pushed past me, dragging Elmore along, but I wasn't included.
Eddie saw that he would no longer be needed and stepped away from the door,
bumping me solidly.

Eddie:  'Scuse me.

Deb:  Sure.

My voice was faint and I made it a point to keep my glance short.  I
felt incredibly safe with this man nearby...there was an overwhelming sense
of gentleness about him despite the size and the way he flung Angelo around
like a cheap frisbee.  His was the first set of hands I had seen in days
that didn't make me break out in a cold sweat.  I pressed my ear to the
door, trying hard to hear what was going on in the office.

Angelo:  I don't know what you need, or want.  I only know that trying to
set fire to this place and leaving...Elmore?...for dead in the alley was
the absolute last straw.  I want nothing to do with these people, but I'm
in so deep I have no idea how to get out.

Billy:  You have no concept of deep, son.  You just talk.

Sam:  Start anywhere you want, Perino.  Got any steno pads in this joint?

Beth:  No room for 'em with all the legal pads.  Go ahead, I'm ready.

Deb:  Damn...I wish I could hear!

Eddie:  Why don't you go on in?  You're one of the managers, aren't you?

I turned away from the door and resumed my place at the bar.  The room
was surprisingly empty.  There was no muscular activity going on whatever,
all the hauling had been done and the entire crew had gone to the back room
to watch ESPN.  The bar was empty save for Eddie and me.

Deb:  Billy shuts a door, there's a reason for it.  I guess they don't
think I need to be in there.

Eddie:  Mind if I have a beer?

Deb:  Not at all.  You've probably done more today to get this place ready
to open than the rest of us combined.

Eddie scrounged behind the bar, found the cooler and brought out two
cold longnecks.  He opened them and handed me one without asking if I wanted
it.   Of course, I accepted it without thinking, never taking my eyes off 
his hands.  It was starting to seem like a beer bottle was a natural
extension of my arm.  Eddie came back around the bar and sat alongside me.

Deb:  You're kind of a loner, aren't you?

Eddie shrugged, man of few words as it seemed.  When he did speak, his
deep voice was tinged with emotion.

Eddie:  Yeah.

Deb:  So...what brought you here?

Eddie:  Just this case.  Foltrigg hired me a while back to dig up everything
I could find on Cosmo.  Then he called me to come down here and do the same
thing for George Cole.

I shuddered at the sound of the name.  In case Eddie had noticed, I 
moved quickly to keep the conversation from going down that particular 
avenue.

Deb:  So you really are a private detective.  I thought all the crap about a
gunshoe was just the standard line.

I was pleased to see a grin slowly brightening Eddie's face as he looked
at me.

Eddie:  Private detective.  Thank you!  Yes, I am.

Deb:  I never thought private dick was very dignified.

Eddie:  Me, either, thanks.

He tipped his beer bottle towards me slightly as I sipped from mine.  I
was hardly surprised to find that the contents were half gone.

Eddie:  Actually, it pisses me off.

Deb:  I suppose they think they're all being terribly witty when they say
it, too.  Bunch of idiots.

Eddie:  Yeah, like it's the first time I ever heard it.

Deb:  I don't imagine the witless wonders can help it.  And Hollyweird
doesn't help much, either.  There hasn't been a memorable private detective
out there since Bogey.  Most of 'em are dicks, and they're hardly 
private about it.

Eddie:  Yeah.  I'd like to get my hands on the first Hollywood guy who
coined the phrase "private dick".

I clutched my beer hard at the words 'get my hands on', then drained the
bottle.  To hell with beer.  I needed something stronger, when I felt like
I could maneuver well enough to get it.

Deb:  Mickey Spillane's in South Carolina.  You might try him, since
Dashiell Hammett's dead.

Eddie smiled for the second time that day.

Eddie:  So, what's a nice girl like you doin' in a joint like this?

Deb:  You might also get the scriptwriter who first came up with that
line.  Me...anything I'm told, though on paper I'm the manager.

Eddie took another pull off the bottle.

Eddie:  I mean...how'd you get this gig?

Deb:  Long story.  VERY long story.  You don't want to hear it.

Eddie:  Is there a short version?

Deb:  I was out of a job and bored.  Finis, as the foreign filmmakers say.

If I was doing nothing else right anymore, I was making Eddie laugh.  He
chuckled again.

Eddie:  Okay, that's pretty short.

I slid off the barstool and headed around to the back.

Deb:  I wonder if there's anything stronger back here...

I rooted around, finally coming up with a bottle of Cuervo Gold and a
half-gallon of Tropicana.  If there was grenadine back there I couldn't
find it and didn't much care.  Eddie was getting to me and didn't even seem
to know it.  He seemed so...tired.

Deb:  No grenadine...not a real Sunrise, but who's counting.

Eddie:  I won't tell if you don't.

Deb:  The hallmark of a true detective...the ability to observe without
spilling his guts all over the landscape. Who would I tell?  Nobody   
here but you and me and the fencepost.  Want one of these?

Eddie drained the last of his beer in one long swallow.  I was feeling
decidedly loose already.

Eddie:  Yeah.  Hit me.

I stopped moving.  I made it look like I needed to regain my balance, but
in truth I wished he had chosen some other phrase.  After a minute, I was
able to mix the drinks.  As always, I poured with a heavy hand.  I passed
Eddie a glass, and tacked around the bar to retake my own seat.

Deb:  Might be strong enough to light...

Eddie:  I can handle it.  I'm a big boy.

Eddie raised his glass to me in a salute.  If he'd said Skol, I'd have
left.

Eddie:  May the road rise to meet you.

Deb:  May George Cole be eaten by a cat.  And may the cat be eaten by the
devil.

That one slightly confused Eddie, but he was gentleman enough not to
quiz me.  He touched the rim of his glass to mine, and his fingers brushed
against my hand.  I knew I should snatch my hand away, actually wanted to
run screaming from the room...but it was therapy time and I needed to face
my demon.

Deb:  You...married, Eddie?

How's that for changing the subject, you clumsy ox!  I cursed myself.

Deb:  Sorry, Eddie.

Eddie:  Don't be.  Thinkin' the same thing myself, anyway.  No.  I'm not
married.

Deb:  Ever...loved...anybody?

Idiot, idiot, idiot!!!  I knew his story!  Eddie looked down at
his glass and sighed deeply, rubbing a thumb along the rim.

Eddie:  Yeah.

Deb:  Ain't easy, is it?

Eddie:  No...what about you?

Deb:  Yeah...and no, it's not.  What happened...?

Eddie:  Not much.  She didn't love me back.

I dropped my chin.  A simple little statement of fact, but there was a
world of heartbreak in it.  I wished the woman that had hurt him hadn't 
already been dead.  It would have been a distinct pleasure to kill her.  I
drained off half my drink in one swallow, and shuddered at its strength.

Deb:  Stupid woman.

Eddie looked up, gave me a tired grin.

Eddie:  So you're what...married?

Deb:  Was.  Not any more.

Eddie:  Stupid man.

The rest of my drink went down the hatch in a convulsive swallow.  I was
over the line now, well on the way to drunk.  I would answer for it later,
if not to Billy, to the porcelain altar.  I mixed another, stronger one.

Deb:  Maybe, maybe not...I'm...oh, to hell with what I am.  Can I ask you a
personal question, Eddie?

Eddie:  These aren't personal?

Deb:  Depends on what you call personal.  For myself, it's all part of the
resume.

Eddie:  Shoot.

Deb:  What sort of woman interests you?

Eddie:  Usually the ones that mean the most trouble.

Deb:  You do flirt with disaster, don't you?  There must be a nice one out 
there... one who'd look after you.

Eddie:  I hope so.

I managed to limit my first belt off this one to a third of it.  Never
could handle, or even respect, my liquor.  I was getting reckless.  An idea
had formed itself in my inebriated head...needing only the proper time to
attempt to bring it up.

Deb:  I'll bet you know her already.

Eddie cocked his head at me.  He looked about ten years old.

Eddie:  What makes you say that?

Deb:  That's usually the way it is.  Got any good friends...women...

Eddie:  ...yeah...

Deb:  Ever looked at her?  Bet she's nice.

Eddie:  We've...done more than look.

Bully for you, lady, I thought.  Drive that ice queen right out of this
boy's warm heart.

Deb:  So, what the hell's stoppin' ya?

Eddie:  She deserves better.

I drained the rest of the drink and reached for the makings of yet 
another.

Deb:  You ask her, big boy.  I'll bet she tells ya different.

Eddie:  Uh...you sure you want another drink?

Deb:  I made it, didn't I?  Why, you need another one?

Eddie looked very deeply into my eyes.

Deb:  I know, I'm getting stupid but, hell...I'm in the mood for stupid...
Thing is...I don't know what the thing is, except the look on your face
just about breaks my heart sometimes.

Eddie:  Thank you.

I laid a hand in the center of his chest, maybe to keep from falling into
him.  He covered my hand with his huge one...and I was finally loose enough
to stay that way.  He rubbed the back of my hand slightly.

Deb:  For what?  Having a fucking heart?

Eddie:  Not everyone does nowadays.

Deb:  Not too many people give me credit for mine.  My ex-husband, for one.
Cheap bastard.

Eddie moved his hand from mine to my cheek, stroking it with his thumb
lightly.

Eddie:  Then he didn't deserve you.

There was, to my surprise, a sober portion of my brain left and it was
reminding me that there was this big bugger name of Billy in the next room.
I told it to shut the hell up.  I needed something, and there was no way in
the world Billy was going to be able to provide it, especially when he 
found out that I needed it in the first place.

Deb:  He got what he did deserve, though.  Legal ass-kickin'.

Eddie:  Good.

Billy was relegated to the back burner.  For the moment.  I took another
hit off the glass and drained it down to little bits of pulp.  The way I was
mixing them, the drinks were anything but water, still I was drinking them
as though they were.  I reached for the Cuervo again, but Eddie beat me to
it and moved it well out of reach.

Eddie:  I really don't think you want any more of this.

Deb:  No?  What else is there?

Eddie actually laughed out loud.

Eddie:  I think you've probably reached maximum capacity for the evening.

Deb:  Didn't know I had such a thing.  Learn something new every day.
You're very wise, Eddie.

Eddie:  I been around.

Eddie let his hand drop down, tracing the line of my jaw and stopping
briefly to cup my chin.  I stood stock still, not the least bit afraid of
that big hand.

Eddie:  Can I give you a ride home?  I don't think you're gonna make it.
Is there anybody left watching your house, or are they all down here?

Deb:  Don't need anybody there.  Major-ass security system.  Cole gets
near it, the place'll go up like a rocket.  I wish the jerk would get
near it.

Eddie:  Well, if you want, I can wait around till someone gets home.  Stay 
on your couch.  How'd that be?

Deb:  I could sure use the comapny.  I haven't even got a dog...not so much
as a damn old fish.  You'd be better company than a fish, wouldn't you?

Eddie smiled.

Eddie:  I sure hope so.  You ready?

Deb:  Guess so.  I should write a note...oh, hell...he'll find me when he
gets there.  Can I hold on to your arm?  I ain't so steady, Eddie.

Eddie wrapped an arm around my shoulders, supporting me fully.

Eddie:  That do ya?

Deb:  Very nicely.  You know...the last Tsarevich of Russia had a sailor
assigned to him who did nothing but carry him around. I begin to see how
he might have felt...the kid, I mean.

I stumbled, and Eddie tightened his grip.

Deb:  Little worse than I thought.  Maybe I'd better sit down again for a
minute.  Will you stay with me until I crap or go blind?

I sank into a chair.  Eddie took a spot opposite me.

Eddie:  I don't mind.

Deb:  I don't suppose you do.  You're a treasure, Eddie...not even buried.
Why do women want complacent assholes when the world is full of Eddie's to
be cherished I'm sure I don't know.  Eddie...

Eddie was steadying me in the chair, hands on both elbows.  I had reached
a point where I positively liked his hands.

Deb:  I'm starting to...oh, hell...I hate it when I don't know what I think.
Lack of self control.

I stared up at him, seeing two and sometimes three of him sitting there.

Deb:  You have such a noble face, Eddie.  Anybody ever tell you that, or
are they just tryin' to kick you in it.

Eddie:  No, nobody's ever told me that.

Deb:  One of those two women should have.  Doofuses, both of them.  No
offense to your friend, but, geez, Eddie...you're just lying there, waiting
for some smart woman to pick you up.  You're a treasure, Eddie, you are.

Eddie:  Treasure's only what you make it.  It's up to you to decide 
what's valuable and what's not.

Deb:  That's true, but when you see something shiny on the ground, you need
to check it out before you know if it's a nickle or a slug, don't you?

Eddie:  Nickles, slugs, they're all the same.  What one man thinks is 
treasure, another thinks is trash.

Deb:  True again.  Like I said, you're very wise...and totally wasted.
Assholes have more women than they know what to do with.  That bastard
George Cole, for instance.  You are one of a kind, Eddie...I can just tell.  
And I...

Eddie:  Tell what?

I was just drunk enough to be brave, and I was able to stare Eddie in 
the face when I made my outlandish request.  I took deep, shuddering
breaths, then spoke.

Deb:  Never mind...not important.  I was going to ask you...would you be
willing...to...take me to bed?

Eddie started shaking his head.  He knew I was with one of the boys,
just not which one.  He wasn't the type to go behind someone's back.  I was
shaking with nervousness.

Deb:  Hear me out, please!  I know it's a rotten thing to ask and I just got
done telling you how much more than this you deserve but I don't know what
else to do!

Eddie spoke cautiously.

Eddie:  Okay.

Deb:  Cole nearly raped me that day...I left a lot of things out.  I only
got away because Cosmo called Cole away to twist his ear a little and
Angelo got me out.  There was so much unsaid...like how I actually had to go home and change...he was so mad he didn't notice.  Since then there hasn't 
been time even to make love, we've been too busy here.

Eddie:  Why not just tell him?

Deb:  Because he'll be furious.  And then there are some things Billy
doesn't see unless you beat him over the head with them and I've been
doing far too much of that lately.  Eventually he'll think of it himself.
When he does...sometimes he's sort of rough and usually I like that.  But
if he does it now...I'll...I'll react badly.  Because of Cole.  I need
somebody to help me remember that sex isn't supposed to be scary.  That's
all I've been able to think about...how much he scared me. I can't sleep,
I've been drinking way too much...and then I saw you.

Eddie:  Why me?  There's all kinds of guys here?

Deb:  Not sweet ones.  I could have asked Bully, but Billy knows about
Bully.  I didn't know what to do until you came...but I understand if you
can't.  Sorry if I embarrassed you, Eddie.

Eddie:  Well, Darlin'...I don't know if you embarrassed me but...all the
same...I can't.  Wouldn't be right.

Eddie touched my face gently, raised my chin to look at him.  I caught
his hand in mine and looked desperately at him, but...he was determined.

Deb:  I know.  It's okay, I shouldn't have asked.

Eddie:  I'll still take you home.

Deb:  No, that's okay.  I'll get a cab...door to door, I should be fine.

Eddie:  It won't be so bad.  He'll understand.

Deb:  He always does, eventually.  It's just the time between when I tell
him and when he does understand that's rough.  Remember, Eddie...
talk to your girl.

I gathered my purse and jacket and headed unsteadily for the door.
Eddie was standing there when I climbed into the first cab I saw...and into
the greatest ordeal of my life.

TO BE CONTINUED...